Rivals at Work
by Gemini Artemis
Summary: Peridot and Yellow Pearl never did get along.


**RIVALS AT WORK**

Peridot was only a few hundred years old when her manager instructed her to report directly to Yellow Diamond for the first time. She knew Yellow Diamond, of course. Who on Homeworld didn't? She was one of the most powerful Gems in existence, and Peridot had often been present for her public speeches, not to mention she had watched virtually all available records featuring her and had heard many stories about her from older Gems. Peridot looked up to her for her imposing size, immense power, and above all her intelligence and her logical, rational thinking. Those were traits that all Peridots found appealing.

Rather than being scared of reporting directly to her great leader, Peridot was eager to meet her face to face. This was a great opportunity. Imagine that—her, a mere tiny Peridot, actually talking to the almighty Yellow Diamond!

Okay, maybe she was a little bit nervous deep down. She was still a very young Gem, and despite her remarkable learning capacity and prodigious skills, Peridot still knew very little about the world and proper etiquette. She hoped that she wouldn't mess up and inadvertently offend her superior. Addressing her manager was one thing, but actually interacting with Yellow Diamond...

She quietly entered the huge hall that led to Yellow Diamond's office. Peridot was used to feeling small—Peridots in general were—but she suddenly felt very, very small and insignificant. The ceiling had to be at least 70 feet high, and the golden doors to Yellow Diamond's office were almost as big. Likewise, the murals and statues that decorated the hall were also huge.

She supposed it only made sense, since Yellow Diamond herself was at least 20 feet tall, but it still made Peridot feel like she had been hit by a shrinking ray.

The only remotely normal-sized thing in the hall was an ornate desk next to the golden doors, where a fancy yellow Pearl sat, frowning at a holo-screen and typing furiously.

Peridot approached the desk and was dismayed to see that she was barely tall enough to reach it, so that only her gem and her hair would be immediately visible to the Pearl. In fact, she could hear the Pearl still typing and grumbling to herself, apparently unaware of Peridot's presence.

After a few more moments passed without any sign of acknowledgement, Peridot cleared her throat loudly to get the Pearl's attention.

The typing and grumbling stopped, but other than that, there was still no clear sign that the Pearl had noticed her.

"Uh, hello?" said Peridot, a little impatiently.

"Yes, can I help you?" the Pearl finally replied, but the polite words sounded rather forced, cold and unpleasant. Peridot couldn't get a good look at the Pearl's face, but she could bet she wasn't smiling.

"Yes, this is Peridot. I have a report for Yellow Diamond," said Peridot, her chest swelling in pride.

" _Which_ Peridot?" the Pearl asked, and Peridot caught a glimpse of a long, upturned nose wrinkling in distaste. "There are at least a few hundred of you just in this area, and frankly, you all look the same."

Peridot clenched her teeth in annoyance, but she couldn't deny that the Pearl had a point. So, instead of firing a scathing insult, she racked her brain for the ID code that she had been made to memorize since her creation.

"Peridot, Facet 2F5L, Cut 5XG," she recited in monotone.

"Oh, a rookie, huh?" the Pearl commented, with a crooked smile. "That explains _so_ much."

Peridot didn't have much experience with Pearls. Pearls were made-to-order servants, a symbol of status for high-ranking Gems, and as far as she knew, there wasn't a single Peridot on Homeworld who could even dream of affording her own Pearl. However, from what she had heard, Pearls were usually meek, subdued, soft-spoken, polite, and delicate.

This Pearl, though... She wasn't any of those things! Surely she was defective? But if she were defective, she would have been harvested by now, right?

Peridot didn't know. She was too young to know anything that wasn't directly related to her duties as a technician. What she did know was that she didn't like this Pearl one bit. She made Peridot feel small, and she didn't think Pearls were supposed to make anyone feel small.

While Peridot silently seethed, the Pearl was checking something on her screen.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked, her high-pitched voice already grating on Peridot's nerves.

"I was sent here by my manager," Peridot answered through gritted teeth, evading the question because she honestly had no idea what else to say. She hadn't expected it to be so complicated to make a simple report to her superior, and she was beginning to suspect that this Pearl was deliberately making things difficult for her.

"You can't see her without an appointment," the Pearl informed her. "Yellow Diamond is a very busy Gem. Did you really think you could just waltz into her office at your earliest convenience? She doesn't have time for the likes of you."

"I was just obeying orders!" Peridot shouted, jumping to hang onto the edge of the large desk and glare at the insolent Pearl. "I was told by my immediate superior to come here to deliver a report to Yellow Diamond, so I did! You're the one who's getting in the way, you clod!"

"Well!" the Pearl huffed, sticking her nose even further up. "I'm just doing my job!"

"Your job is to stand around and look pretty!" Peridot shouted, spit coming out of her mouth.

"You don't get to tell me what my job is, rookie!" the Pearl started shouting back, standing up from her chair and leaning over the desk. "I was assigned to this job by Yellow Diamond herself!"

" _What is this racket?!_ "

Both Peridot and the Pearl gasped when the golden doors were knocked open and the imposing, towering figure of their leader came out. They shrank under Yellow Diamond's uncanny gaze.

"M-my apologies, my Diamond!" said the Pearl. "I was just telling this Peridot that she can't see you without an appointment and she refuses to—"

Yellow Diamond focused her gaze on Peridot and spoke, interrupting the Pearl, "Ah, yes, I was waiting for your report. Come in." Without waiting for a response, she turned around and walked back into her office.

Once Yellow Diamond was out of sight, Peridot shook herself out of her stupor and called out, "Yes, my Diamond!"

Just before she stepped into Yellow Diamond's office, she grinned smugly at the Pearl, silently laughing at her. The Pearl wisely held her tongue and just glared at her.

Peridot: 1. Pearl: 0.

xxx

It was only several hundreds of years later that Peridot and the Yellow Pearl met again, much to their mutual displeasure. This time, at least, they were actually facing each other without a gargantuan desk between them.

"You can't see her," Yellow Pearl told Peridot, with a small, fake smile. "I know for a fact that you don't have an appointment."

"Not this again!" Peridot muttered, throwing up her arms in frustration.

"And you won't get lucky this time," Yellow Pearl went on. "She's in a meeting with the most elite Gems, so she definitely won't see you. And if you start screaming like last time, I'll call security before you can disturb their meeting."

"But it's an urgent report!" Peridot argued. "It can't wait, and if something goes seriously wrong because of this delay, you'll be held responsible!"

"Oh, well," said Yellow Pearl, not seeming terribly affected by Peridot's bluff. "I suppose you can relay your message to me and I'll bring it up to her if it turns out to be really important."

"As if I would trust a Pearl with important information!" Peridot scoffed.

"I don't see why not," said the Pearl, that obnoxious smirk never leaving her face. "Yellow Diamond does. I'm not just any Pearl, you know."

"Hah! What makes you think you're so special?"

"I _am_ special," said Yellow Pearl, sticking up her nose. "Unlike you."

"What?!" Peridot could barely believe this Pearl's nerve.

"I'm Yellow Diamond's Pearl," the yellow Gem replied. "I was personally ordered for production by her, and I've been serving her directly for thousands of years. I'm always by her side and I have never disappointed her. She trusts me more than she trusts you."

"That's preposterous!" Peridot shouted. "If she's actually trusted you with any crucial information, it's only because she knows you're not smart enough to do anything with it! You're just a Pearl!"

"Correction," Yellow Pearl cut in, "I'm Yellow Diamond's Pearl."

"See? You just keep repeating the same thing over and over like a broken communicator!"

"What I mean is that I'm unique," the Pearl clarified. "Don't you understand? I'm her only Pearl. I'm one of a kind, while you are one small Peridot among thousands. You even need to state your ID code every time you make a report, because it's just impossible to tell you apart from other Peridots."

Peridot growled and resisted the temptation of punching the arrogant Pearl in the face. Pearls weren't fighters, but Peridots were even less adept at physical confrontation. This Pearl was bigger than her, so Peridot was at a disadvantage. She couldn't think of any good comebacks, either.

This time, Peridot was the one who ended up leaving in a defeated huff while the Pearl looked on smugly, flashing her a victorious grin.

Peridot: 1. Pearl: 1.

xxx

Peridot smirked, taking immense satisfaction from the fact that for once, she was actually looking down at Yellow Pearl rather than the other way around. These limb enhancers were simply marvelous and she was never going to take them off.

Yellow Pearl glared at her, furious that her height no longer granted her an advantage. "Just because Yellow Diamond listens to your ideas sometimes doesn't mean you're special and can break the rules," she told Peridot.

"You're just jealous because I actually have useful ideas that she finds worth listening to, while you'll always be just a Pearl who will never do anything more for her than take her messages," Peridot jeered.

"You're the one who's envious," said the Pearl. "Because I serve Yellow Diamond directly, I'm always with her, and you only get to talk to her every other century."

"At least I have a chance of rising in rank and become an elite technician."

"Oh, big deal!" Yellow Pearl rolled her eyes. "You're still expendable and easily replaced. You're just a number."

"I'm not expendable!" Peridot hissed. "Yellow Diamond listens to me and to my ideas. Me, a Peridot. She doesn't extend that honor to all Peridots. You know why? Because she recognizes that I have great potential! I'm more intelligent and resourceful than any of my peers. I just got assigned to a big, top-secret mission in another galaxy. Unlike you, I can actually make a difference for the Empire! And what about you? You're not even good at being a Pearl! You're the ugliest Pearl I've ever seen, and you're not elegant like the others of your kind."

Yellow Pearl sniffed, her nose up in the air. "I was made this way specifically to meet Yellow Diamond's requirements. She prizes efficiency and order above anything else." Yellow Pearl waved her hand dismissively, her big nose wrinkling. "She doesn't care about trivial things like beauty and elegance."

"Yes, exactly. Efficiency and order," Peridot repeated. "She gave you those traits because she's sensible and doesn't like anything to go to waste. So she gives you a few menial tasks that Pearls wouldn't normally do, and suddenly you act like you're her second-in-command!"

"My job is a lot more important than you think," Yellow Pearl defends. "I'm the one who makes sure that Yellow Diamond is always on schedule. I help her in countless little ways just to make her job less stressful and more efficient, so that she can be in her best form for all the decisions she has to make for the Empire."

"All right, then. You go on with your 'help in little ways' while I go on my mission that will help 'in big ways', and then we'll see who's really more useful and valuable to Yellow Diamond."

Peridot left, snickering audibly.

Peridot: 2. Pearl: 1.

xxx

Yellow Pearl was back to her desk. Yellow Diamond was on her large chair as usual, with dozens of screens and panels surrounding her. Being a leader, there were many important things that she needed to keep track of and watch out for. So many decisions to make, so many calculations, so many strategies and plans.

Yellow Pearl knew better than to disturb Yellow Diamond when she was this busy, so she retreated to her own desk outside of Yellow Diamond's office. Some might say that her job wasn't as important as that of scientist Gems who looked for worlds to conquer and resources to explore, or that of Quartz soldiers, who protected Homeworld from their enemies and helped rid new planets of threatening lifeforms so that they could build their Gem colonies without hindrance from the local populace.

But in reality, Pearl sincerely considered her own job of utmost importance and she took pride in it. She was the one who made sure that Yellow Diamond was comfortable and pleased in order to do her best as a great leader. Pearl made sure that no minor annoyances or trivial matters would waste Yellow Diamond's precious time.

That was why she often went through Yellow Diamond's messages and got to decide what was worth her superior's time. It was a great honor and proof of how much trust Yellow Diamond put in her. Many higher-ranking Gems would kill to be in her place.

She was sorting through some messages when she finally reached a distress message from a very distant planet. The data showed that it took a while for the message signal to reach Homeworld, especially since the technology employed had been quite obsolete. Mildly curious, Pearl opened it.

" _This is Peridot, transmitting from all frequencies from abandoned Crystal System on colony planet Earth._ "

Oh. It was _that_ Peridot. They all looked alike, but Pearl recognized this one. Most Peridots were quiet and obedient, and despite their tendency for a moody disposition, they were level-headed and rarely showed emotions. This particular Peridot, however, was brash, loud, and short-tempered.

" _To Yellow Diamond,_ " the recorded message continued. " _My mission has been compromised. My escort and informant are gone_ _,_ _and I am now stranded. Please send help!_ "

Pearl couldn't help but laugh. That pesky Peridot sounded like she was in so much trouble. This was priceless!

Maybe the Peridot would eventually figure out how to get back on Homeworld, but for now at least, Pearl could have her out of her hair for a while.

She briefly glanced around herself, making sure she was alone and no one was watching her. With a subtle twitch of her finger, the Peridot's message was deleted.

With a smirk of satisfaction, Pearl sat back and continued going through other messages. Really, she was just doing her job. The Peridot had gotten herself into that mess due to her own incompetence, so she had to fix it herself. She couldn't expect Yellow Diamond to break out of her busy schedule and go out of her way to rescue a mere Peridot.

It served her right.

Nevertheless, the Pearl couldn't help feeling at least a little vindicated.

Peridot: 2. Pearl: 2

xxx

Who would have thought that the Peridot would resort to using the direct Diamond communication channel? Why couldn't the tiny twerp just accept the fact that she wasn't worth Yellow Diamond's time? Just because Yellow Diamond had listened to some of her ideas in the past, the Peridot thought she actually _mattered_ and was above the rules.

When Yellow Diamond started giving the presumptuous Peridot a reality check, Pearl just had to sneak closer to the screen and take a good look at the miserable and thoroughly humiliated Gem. Oh, the Peridot looked devastated! Pearl tried not to grin openly, but oh, was it a sight to behold! At long last, Yellow Diamond was putting the Peridot in her place in no uncertain terms.

Apparently, however, this Peridot's ego was too big to accept the truth. She lost all reason and questioned Yellow Diamond's direct orders! Pearl could barely believe her nerve.

"What do you know about the Earth?" Yellow Diamond angrily asked the Peridot.

"Apparently more than you! You... _clod_!"

Pearl actually gasped. The sheer audacity of that Peridot! Never in her thousands of years of service had she ever seen such disrespect for her Diamond. Other Gems had questioned her authority, of course, but no one had ever gone so far as to insult Yellow Diamond right to her face with such foul language!

Even Yellow Diamond was momentarily rendered speechless, and the cowardly Peridot took this opportunity to salute and end the transmission. As if that could save her at this point.

"Pearl..." said Yellow Diamond, her voice trembling with barely contained rage. Pearl flinched.

"Y-yes, my Diamond?" she replied shakily.

"That Peridot is a traitor to Homeworld," said the Diamond. "Activate the self-destruction function of the communicator she was using."

"Right away, my Diamond," said Pearl, almost in a singsong, and did as she was told. It was just a pity that she couldn't see the traitor's face as she was destroyed by the powerful explosion and finally shattered into a million shards.

Pearl: 3. Peridot: 2.

She _won_.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **A/N:** Don't get me wrong. I love both of these characters. But I can so see them hating each other. Anyway, thank you for reading!


End file.
